Trademark registration charges may jump 100%

A steep rise in various fees, from filing of trademark applications to its renewal, have been proposed in the draft Trademark Amendment Rules, 2015, issued for public comments by the ministry of commerce and industry (MCI) on Thursday. An extra 10% will be levied against the fees if the trademark application and forms are not submitted in the electronic mode, but are filed physically. However, the number of forms for filing various applications have been simplified and consolidated into fewer forms.

The other notable amendments contained in this draft are the wide discretionary powers given to the Registrar of Trademarks to determine whether or not a trademark is “well-known” and include it in the list maintained at the registrar’s office. Currently, no such list is maintained even as recognition and protection is given under the Trademark Act to a “well-known” trademark against infringement or misuse by a competitor.

Applications for sound-marks can now be accompanied by a sound-file in MP3 format. The Yahoo yodel (of Yahoo Inc) was the first sound mark to be registered in India in 2008.

“One of the biggest changes in the draft rules with also the highest impact is the fact that almost all the fees have been increased by 100%. From filing to renewing, the entire trademark registration procedure will cost an applicant twice as much as it does now. There is also a huge backlog in disposing of trademark applications filed under the national application route. The proposed hike in fees will prove to be more cumbersome to business entities, especially startups,,” says Raja Selvam, managing attorney at Chennai-based law firm Selvam and Selvam. (Refer table showing hike in fees).

The Registrar of Trademarks, according to the proposed rules will maintain a list of well-known trademarks- the application fees for such inclusion is Rs 1 lakh. For determining whether or not a trademark can be registered as well-known, the draft rules provide: “The Registrar may stipulate criteria in this regard and also call for such documents as he thinks fit.

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